NBA Offseason Movements: Western Conference, 2008
Better late than never:
Golden State Warriors
Changes: Lost Baron Davis (Clippers), Matt Barnes (Suns), and Mickael Pietrus (Magic) to free agency; signed Corey Maggette; drafted Anthony Randolph
I love it, as I've gotten to the point where I hate the Warriors. Golden State lost the heart and soul of their team because of squabling between that player and Don Nelson (sound familiar?), and lost two important subs, as well. They committed too much money to a player--while talented in his own right--is a copy of several other key players on the team. Basically, Nelson has a team full of SG/SFs. Which is really the way he wants it, but we've seen how much you can win with that.
LA Clippers
Changes: Signed Baron Davis, Ricky Davis, and White Chocolate; lost Elton Brand (Sixers) and Correy Maggette (Warriors); traded for Marcus Camby; drafted Eric Gordon
Poor Clippers. They're finally doing the right thing...and David Falk (Brand's agent) decides to screw them over for a slight from over five years ago and screws them. It's pretty ridiculous. They did a good job by getting Marcus Camby for nothing, and they weren't a true Western Conference superpower even with Brand and Davis, but now they're just battling for the 8th seed.
Phoenix Suns
Changes: Signed Matt Barnes; drafted Robin Lopez
I think people are going to be surprised at how bad the Suns are this season. They're my preseason pick to be the surprise drop like a stone team in the West.
Sacramento Kings
Changes: Traded Ron Artest to the Rockets for Donte Greene & Bobby Jackson; drafted Jason Thompson
Seriously...does anyone outside of Sacramento give a shit about this team?
Your Dallas Mavericks!
Changes: Didn't do Jack Shit
Can you tell that I'm down on the Mavs? Look, I loved Desagiana Diop...at $1 mil per year, not at the ENTIRE FUCKING MIDLEVEL EXCPETION! That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Not only did the Mavs not trade Josh Howard, I didn't even hear them seriously shopping him.
Sadly, the Mavs have reached the point where their window has shut, and their only way to go from here is down. The only question that really remains is will Dirk be here in two to three years or not. We're going to have to rebuild and start over, and it saddens me to think of Dirk playing elsewhere.
The Mavs have only one hope: The Mavs flounder around the 7th or 8th seed til the trading deadline, and they are able to fleece someone by trading Jason Kidd (either fooling them with his potential like the Nets did to us, or using his expiring contract). Having Howard keep his nose clean and continue to put up his deceptive stats so the Mavs can do the same thing with him will also work. The Mavs then take the rest of the season to get to know one another, and head into next year with true chamionship asperations.
The odds of that happening are practically nil, especially with the ridiculous ineptitude that has been shown by the front office the last two years.
Houston Rockets
Changes: Traded Donte Green and Bobby Jackson for Ron Ron; signed Brent Barry
Sigh. We all know what I think of Ron Ron. However, I'll say this for the Rockets: they were never, ever going to get out of the first round of the West with only TMac and Yao. With Ron, at least it won't be the same old song for the Rockets. Now, of course, they can only hope he doesn't go nuts and cause them to miss the playoffs entirely instead of losing in the first round, of which he has a 50/50 shot to do.
Memphis Grizzlies
Changes: Swapped the following players and picks with Minnesota: Kevin Love & Mike Miller to the Wolves, added OJ Mayo; Drafted Darrell Arthur
The Grizz are the latest "intersting young team who will get KILLED this season, but have enough talent to give fans hope." BTW, Marc Gasol does not make the Pau trade fair. Let's stop that talk right now.
New Orleans Hornets
Changes: Signed James Posey from Celtics; lost Jannero Pargo (Europe)
Finally, a Western conference team who had a good offseason! Posey is the PERFECT addition to this team: a veteran player who still has plenty of gas in the tank who can put a very successful young team over the top. Did they slightly overpay Posey, as Hollinger from espn.com keeps lamenting? Yes, they did. But just slightly, and when you are this close to a championship, it's well worth it.
All was not perfect, however. The Hornets will miss Jannero Pargo. Still, they are probably my favorite in the West.
Denver Nuggets
Changes: Traded Marcus Camby to the Clippers for nothing; traded for Renaldo Balkman
I don't know what the Nuggets are doing. Obviously they are planning on blowing things up and starting over (the Camby trade shows that)...but then why resign JR Smith to a ridiculous contract? Another team that is going to get worse before it gets any better.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Changes: Traded OJ Mayo for Kevin Love and Mike Miller; traded for Rodney Carney from the Sixers
I like the Mayo for Love/Miller trade for the Wolves, though they absorbed too many contracts in the deal. They won't make the playoffs this year, but they will make more noise than they have since the KG glory days.
Oklahoma City Whatevers
Changes: Drafted Russell Westbrook and DJ White; traded Luke Ridnoir for Desmond Mason and Joe Smith
Good offseason for OKC. I'm not crazy on drafting Westbrook as some, but I don't think it was a bad pick. I like the Ridnoir trade: OKC had a glut of point guards, and picked up a fan fave who can contribute in Mason, and a veteran PF who can teach and still play in Smith. They'll get hammered again, but are moving in the right direction.
Portland Trailblazers
Changes: Drafted Greg Oden & Rudy Fernandez; Traded Jarrett Jack for Jerryd Bayless & Ike Diogu
The Blazers will make the playoffs this year. Period. Also...how ironic will it be if Rudy Frenandez ends up being the best rookie on the Blazers? We all know my disdain for Euro players, but Fernandez looked good in the Olympics, and especially so against the Redeem Team.
Golden State Warriors
Changes: Lost Baron Davis (Clippers), Matt Barnes (Suns), and Mickael Pietrus (Magic) to free agency; signed Corey Maggette; drafted Anthony Randolph
I love it, as I've gotten to the point where I hate the Warriors. Golden State lost the heart and soul of their team because of squabling between that player and Don Nelson (sound familiar?), and lost two important subs, as well. They committed too much money to a player--while talented in his own right--is a copy of several other key players on the team. Basically, Nelson has a team full of SG/SFs. Which is really the way he wants it, but we've seen how much you can win with that.
LA Clippers
Changes: Signed Baron Davis, Ricky Davis, and White Chocolate; lost Elton Brand (Sixers) and Correy Maggette (Warriors); traded for Marcus Camby; drafted Eric Gordon
Poor Clippers. They're finally doing the right thing...and David Falk (Brand's agent) decides to screw them over for a slight from over five years ago and screws them. It's pretty ridiculous. They did a good job by getting Marcus Camby for nothing, and they weren't a true Western Conference superpower even with Brand and Davis, but now they're just battling for the 8th seed.
Phoenix Suns
Changes: Signed Matt Barnes; drafted Robin Lopez
I think people are going to be surprised at how bad the Suns are this season. They're my preseason pick to be the surprise drop like a stone team in the West.
Sacramento Kings
Changes: Traded Ron Artest to the Rockets for Donte Greene & Bobby Jackson; drafted Jason Thompson
Seriously...does anyone outside of Sacramento give a shit about this team?
Your Dallas Mavericks!
Changes: Didn't do Jack Shit
Can you tell that I'm down on the Mavs? Look, I loved Desagiana Diop...at $1 mil per year, not at the ENTIRE FUCKING MIDLEVEL EXCPETION! That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Not only did the Mavs not trade Josh Howard, I didn't even hear them seriously shopping him.
Sadly, the Mavs have reached the point where their window has shut, and their only way to go from here is down. The only question that really remains is will Dirk be here in two to three years or not. We're going to have to rebuild and start over, and it saddens me to think of Dirk playing elsewhere.
The Mavs have only one hope: The Mavs flounder around the 7th or 8th seed til the trading deadline, and they are able to fleece someone by trading Jason Kidd (either fooling them with his potential like the Nets did to us, or using his expiring contract). Having Howard keep his nose clean and continue to put up his deceptive stats so the Mavs can do the same thing with him will also work. The Mavs then take the rest of the season to get to know one another, and head into next year with true chamionship asperations.
The odds of that happening are practically nil, especially with the ridiculous ineptitude that has been shown by the front office the last two years.
Houston Rockets
Changes: Traded Donte Green and Bobby Jackson for Ron Ron; signed Brent Barry
Sigh. We all know what I think of Ron Ron. However, I'll say this for the Rockets: they were never, ever going to get out of the first round of the West with only TMac and Yao. With Ron, at least it won't be the same old song for the Rockets. Now, of course, they can only hope he doesn't go nuts and cause them to miss the playoffs entirely instead of losing in the first round, of which he has a 50/50 shot to do.
Memphis Grizzlies
Changes: Swapped the following players and picks with Minnesota: Kevin Love & Mike Miller to the Wolves, added OJ Mayo; Drafted Darrell Arthur
The Grizz are the latest "intersting young team who will get KILLED this season, but have enough talent to give fans hope." BTW, Marc Gasol does not make the Pau trade fair. Let's stop that talk right now.
New Orleans Hornets
Changes: Signed James Posey from Celtics; lost Jannero Pargo (Europe)
Finally, a Western conference team who had a good offseason! Posey is the PERFECT addition to this team: a veteran player who still has plenty of gas in the tank who can put a very successful young team over the top. Did they slightly overpay Posey, as Hollinger from espn.com keeps lamenting? Yes, they did. But just slightly, and when you are this close to a championship, it's well worth it.
All was not perfect, however. The Hornets will miss Jannero Pargo. Still, they are probably my favorite in the West.
Denver Nuggets
Changes: Traded Marcus Camby to the Clippers for nothing; traded for Renaldo Balkman
I don't know what the Nuggets are doing. Obviously they are planning on blowing things up and starting over (the Camby trade shows that)...but then why resign JR Smith to a ridiculous contract? Another team that is going to get worse before it gets any better.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Changes: Traded OJ Mayo for Kevin Love and Mike Miller; traded for Rodney Carney from the Sixers
I like the Mayo for Love/Miller trade for the Wolves, though they absorbed too many contracts in the deal. They won't make the playoffs this year, but they will make more noise than they have since the KG glory days.
Oklahoma City Whatevers
Changes: Drafted Russell Westbrook and DJ White; traded Luke Ridnoir for Desmond Mason and Joe Smith
Good offseason for OKC. I'm not crazy on drafting Westbrook as some, but I don't think it was a bad pick. I like the Ridnoir trade: OKC had a glut of point guards, and picked up a fan fave who can contribute in Mason, and a veteran PF who can teach and still play in Smith. They'll get hammered again, but are moving in the right direction.
Portland Trailblazers
Changes: Drafted Greg Oden & Rudy Fernandez; Traded Jarrett Jack for Jerryd Bayless & Ike Diogu
The Blazers will make the playoffs this year. Period. Also...how ironic will it be if Rudy Frenandez ends up being the best rookie on the Blazers? We all know my disdain for Euro players, but Fernandez looked good in the Olympics, and especially so against the Redeem Team.
Labels: NBA Offseason
posted by Michael Pondrom at 10:14 PM
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